Ahmedabad/Gandhinagar (Gujarat) : External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who arrived here on Sunday, filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha election in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, today. Jaishankar, whose term ends on August 18 along with two other Rajya Sabha members from Gujarat, is seeking re-election from the same State for the second time.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, BJP State Unit Chief C R Patil accompanied Jaishankar to the Assembly Complex where the EAM filed his nomination papers to the RS Elections Returning Officer.
After filing his nomination for Rajya Sabha elections, Jaishankar expressed his thanks to PM Modi, the BJP leadership and to the people and the legislators of Gujarat. He said that it was an honour for him to represent Gujarat in the Rajya Sabha and it gave an opportunity to become a part of the transformation taking place in the country under the leadership of PM Modi.
Earlier, on his arrival here, Jaishankar was received by Minister Raghavji Patel, Ahmedabad Mayor Kirit Parmar and other party leaders at Ahmedabad airport. The BJP has not officially announced the names of candidates for the three Rajya Sabha seats for which elections are to be held on July 24. However, Jaishankar's nomination was considered certain in the party circles. In 2019 polls, Jaishankar was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat.
On the other hand, the Congress has already said it will not field candidates in the elections to three Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat as it does not have enough MLAs in the 182-member assembly. The BJP won a record 156 seats in the Gujarat 2022 assembly elections while Congress got only 17 seats, which was its worst performance till date.
According to the information, out of 11 Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat, BJP has 8 seats, the remaining 3 seats are with Congress. Out of the eight seats of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Rajya Sabha tenure of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Jugalji Thakor and Dinesh Anavadia is ending on August 18, 2023.
This month, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is holding election for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Goa, Gujarat and West Bengal to be held on July 24. The current MPs in these seats are scheduled to retire in July and August. These members include Derek O'Brien from West Bengal. July 13 is the last date for nominations filing. Counting will be done on July 24.
